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Small Business Thursday: The Wild

February 12, 2015

I’ve know Adriane, the owner and artist behind The Wild, an independent brand of modern kids’ apparel, for a few years now. We met when we used to read one another’s blogs, and Adriane would paint the most gorgeous abstract paintings. So when she told me about her new business I was so beyond excited for her. Adriane designed the sweetest collection of little animals, and she screen prints each one onto the softest cotton clothing for tiny humans. We own a few pieces of her clothing already and Johannes has big plans to score himself a few more. The best part of The Wild collection is that its fully customizable, so you can print any character on any piece you like. In addition to being this amazing mom to two little boys, she is also incredibly talented and lovely.

I wanted to dig a little deeper into Adriane’s new business venture, so I asked her a few questions.

Here is what she had to say.

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Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.

My husband Billy and I met in 2005 and a few short years later we were married. Soon after that we had our first son, Benjamin, and three years later, sweet Sawyer came along. We live in Hamilton, Ontario where my husband works full time and I run The Wild from home with our boys.

What sparked the idea for The Wild?

A few years ago I was painting a lot, and I started painting custom pieces for kids rooms. I had painted for our son’s rooms and people were drawn to the more modern, minimal style I was creating. As time went on I had more and more people ask for my children’s artwork for their baby nurseries, and I knew that one day I wanted to do more with the characters that I had created.

What role do your children play in your business?

They truly started it all. I had never paid much attention to anything baby-related until Benjamin came into my life. Ben and Sawyer are the inspiration behind The Wild entirely. Ben is definitely a little assistant now, he loves to help in any way he can. As the boys get older I hope they will be interested in helping and can maybe come out to markets with us. In 5 years, where do you see The Wild?

Oh, I have a LOT of plans for this little shop of ours. I don’t want to give away all of my secrets, but I will say that in five years I hope to be a well-established brand of children’s clothing and accessories, including some paper goods. The next products I will be adding to my line are bibs and baby blankets, so keep an eye out for that!

If you had to pick one holiday to be your favourite, which one would it be?

Christmas! I have a bit of a weird obsession with Christmas. The excitement never changed for me from when I was a kid, I still get butterflies and can’t sleep the night before. December is madness in our house.

What would people be most surprised to find out about you?

I have a weird affinity for really dark, scary tv shows, like The Fall and Hannibal. Seriously, I can’t stop watching them. Also, when I was a teenager I used to skateboard. People always find that really bizarre when I tell them that.

Who inspires you?

My children, my husband, my parents, my friends and family. I’m really lucky to be surrounded by the coolest people ever.What surprised you most about motherhood?

How all consuming it is. I remember years before having a baby, thinking about how it would be, and I just expected my life to be the same, plus one. HA! I had no idea that it would take me four years to finish and book and that I would never pee alone again.If you could give one piece of advice to new moms that might want to start a business?

Well I’m still very new, so my advice might be very different in a few years. But for now, my advice is to just go for it, no matter what you want to do. There will never be a perfect time, it will always be hard, you will always be busy. So just do it. You will be so happy that you did.

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Thank you so much Adriane for sharing with us today! And you guys, if you love The Wild characters and clothing as much as I do, be sure to watch out for a really REALLY cool giveaway from Adriane here on the blog really soon.